posted on July 30, 2001 11:29:10 AM new
I sell clothes on eBay - and could sell a lot more - but the ironing is so time-consuming. I have found two young ladies that will pick up clothes at my house, iron them, and bring them back. They are supposed to be here this afternoon, and I am still trying to figure out what to pay (I know, I know, if I was ironing for the money, I would charge big bucks!. All the clothes are laundered, so all they will have to do is iron. And none of the clothes are terribly wrinkled. I fold and smooth them when I take them out of the dryer....
I have packed several copy paper boxes with clothes ready to be ironed, and marked on the box how many pieces and whether they are adults or childrens. Any suggestions on what is reasonable to pay per piece? I have checked several major city newspapers' classifieds, and can't find anyone offering this service....
posted on July 30, 2001 11:38:00 AM new
Last I looked it was .50 to $1.00 per item.....Hope you are making lots of money on this clothing. I know at the cleaners it is 1.65 per piece!!!(I hate to iron!!!)
posted on July 30, 2001 12:18:36 PM new
You may want to invest in one of those clothes steamers like the department stores use. I haven't a clue what they cost, but if they are too expensive, a good, well-made hand held steamer may work. If you consider how much you have to pay to have the clothes ironed on a continual basis, it may well be worth your dollar to invest in a steamer.
posted on July 30, 2001 02:00:01 PM newyumacoot- Wow! Folks must really hate ironing where you live! I guess everyone dislikes it, some more than others! I really don't mind it (don't get me wrong, I am not particularly fond of it!!!), but I need to free up time to be able to list and do other things....Thank you for replying!
llama_lady - Wonderful idea! I plan on researching that this afternoon, and hopefully will find one! You are terrific!
As my luck of the Irish would have it, these two young ladies are charging me $.20 per piece! They can take the clothes to their houses and do it while watching tv or whatever - one actually enjoys ironing...she says it is a stress reliever! One of the young ladies is a student, the other a teacher. I am ver fortunate to have found them - they came highly recommended by my computer tech.
llama_lady - I will let you know what I find! Thanks again.....
posted on July 30, 2001 06:17:04 PM new
I must be really strange...I enjoy ironing and find it to be a stress-reliever also. You'd never know it from looking at my ironing basket, though, which is overflowing at the moment.
You can save yourself a lot of ironing if you are savvy about how to use the dryer to your best advantage.
Depending on what the fabric is, you can frequently get a decent "ironed look" by taking the garment out when it is still slightly damp and carefully hanging it up to dry fully in the air.
A friend of mind taught me a useful emergency trick that works great on supposedly no-iron clothes that have gotten wrinkled...lightly spray with water from on of those spray bottles, and throw in the dryer on lowest heat for 5-10 minutes. Works like a charm! This also takes fold marks out of sweaters, sweatshirts, etc.
100% cotton, especially heavy fabrics, usually must be ironed the old-fashioned way. I used spray starch or sizing and it makes blouses and shirts absolutely crisp and lovely for photographing. It also speeds the ironing process along. Use your spray bottle full of warm water to pre-spray other stuff...it softens up the wrinkles and makes them disappear with less work.
posted on July 30, 2001 06:54:12 PM new
I hate to iron and am so happy to have found Downy wrinkle releaser. It really works! It great on items that have been folded etc. The clothes might not look quite as nice as if they were ironed but they look good enough for me!
posted on July 30, 2001 06:57:08 PM new
I just put the stuff on (me not the auction) wrinkled. Life is too short to spend it ironing. If anyone doesn't like it they can avert their eyes.
posted on July 30, 2001 07:14:42 PM new
I have a friend just like me who never irons. When she was away with her kids, they stayed in a hotel. When her little girl opened the closet there was an ironing board inside, She was so excited and said to her mom, "Look Mom, they even gave us a surfboard!"
posted on July 30, 2001 09:55:41 PM new
There is one good thing about this chore when you sell on ebay. I can find all of the flaws that my item has-stains, spots, frays, holes or whatever.
When I iron I like to listen to Dr. Laura on the radio. Other peoples problems sure make mine seem small. Those problems also make my ironing a whole lot more fun.
posted on July 31, 2001 08:37:43 AM new
"When I iron I like to listen to Dr. Laura on the radio. Other peoples problems sure make mine seem small. Those problems also make my ironing a whole lot more fun"
Try Dr Phil. Was a Dr Laura fan until she went wacko - aren't the people who call into her - knowing her style - crazy!
posted on July 31, 2001 09:42:05 PM new
ypayretail-Where I live there is not a whole lot to chose from on my kitchen radio. It's either the farm news, sports, sports, and more sports, spanish stations, music or Dr. Laura. But I must confess I live in the hicks and I've never even heard of Dr. Phil.
posted on July 31, 2001 09:47:34 PM new
Hi,
Dr. Phil is the new 'in ' family therapist. A very cool guy from Texas. He is Oprah's latest find and has several best selling books out there.
Dr. Laura has gone way to one extreme so we rarely listen anymore. We used to love her.
Dr. Phil is on Oprah on Tuesdays and in her magazine O.
As for making ironing fun - remember I NEVER< EVER iron!!!!! hehe
posted on August 9, 2001 05:04:22 AM new
[b]llama_lady{/b]
Thank you again for your advice! I found a wonderful deal on a commercial size clothes steamer at topinnovations.com, and hopefully it will be here today. I never thought I would get this excited over getting clothes ironed!
posted on August 9, 2001 05:25:39 AM new
Okay, I'm going to ask a dumb question. Keep in mind that I don't sell clothes and I haven't ironed anything in 20+ years.
Why do you go to the trouble of ironing the item if you're going to be mailing it (it will get squished, won't it?) and if the customer is just going to have to wash it anyway before they wear it? And, if they are not fastidious enough to wash it before wearing it, then why should they care if it was ironed?
Do you iron it so the pictures look better? That makes sense. Anyway, I'm just curious.
posted on August 9, 2001 05:38:52 AM new
I iron the clothes for several reasons: first of all, the clothing does look better in the pictures. I either wash and iron or dry clean everything I sell. I fold the clothes very neatly and wrap in tissue paper when shipping. All my clothing items arrive to the buyers ready-to-wear. If they choose to reclean them, that is their decision. But at least I know I have gone the extra mile in delivering quality service.
I do not wear anything that has not been ironed, neither does my child. This is something that I was taught at a very early age, being raised by a very "Old South" mother.
Another reason, and probably the most important: the appearance of every item I sell has a direct reflection on me as a seller. I have bought things on eBay, and have been shocked at the condition some were in when I received them. Not good.
Personal preference. I have repeat buyers, especially with clothing - and I am sure they are repeat because of the quality of the clothing and the condition in which they receive their package......
posted on August 9, 2001 05:51:28 AM newNanandme Thank you. For such a drudge chore, this is certainly a happy thread. Even though I do not like ironing, I don't even wear my jeans unless they are ironed. Wearing crisply ironed clothes makes me feel better.
posted on August 9, 2001 05:56:20 AM new
Wow, nanandme, that's great. No wonder you have repeat business!
I'm from the South and I remember ironing my school clothes every night. Then, I moved to the DEEP South...Hawaii...where the clothes are more casual and the fabrics easy to care for. I can get by with fabric softener and hanging things right out of the dryer.
My 10-year old son does his own laundry and he recently started ironing his jeans and church clothes. I was surprised. I didn't even know we had an iron in the house! I think one of the teenagers bought it.
Anyway, it is nice to know of a Seller that takes such pride in her business. I wish you much success.
posted on August 9, 2001 06:26:11 AM new
Thanks to both of you for the positive comments! Lately, there seem to be some pretty unhappy campers at the AW boards! As sellers, we are all in this crazy world of eBay together; positive comments are few and far between, so it is refreshing that both of you are positive and pleasant! My "Old South" mother always said that "you can get more flies with honey than with vinegar"....
misscandle - I think it is wonderful that your son shows an interest in his appearance at 10 years old! And you have done a fine job raising him if he is doing his own clothes!!!!
llama_lady - I'm with you! Even if it is just a t-shirt and shorts to spend the day in my inventory room (ceiling fan, no a/c in hot, muggy SC), I still iron. Just makes you feel good!
I can't wait to get the steamer - I will probably spend the weekend using it! Can't remember the last weekend I took off since I started selling full-time. My computer crashed a month ago, and I lost all my auction info (addresses, payment info) with just under 100 auctions to get out; so I had gotten pretty behind on listing (not to mention a few very disgruntled buyers who were not understanding at all and could not wait to race to my feedback and neg me). I have tons of clothes that need to be ironed and listed, so I am really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things and caught up.
Thank you again for making the AW and eBay experience what it should be!!!!
posted on August 9, 2001 08:42:03 AM new
nanandme- when you get your steamer: 1) don't overfill it or it will spit at you or dribble on you and it's hot! (basic) 2) Use softened or distilled water to keep the deposits down (basic stuff, again) 3)hang your garment from the hook then work the wand from inside the item, holding the hem of it in one hand and keeping the fabric taut. You may want to keep it stretched out a second to let it set. On pants, etc. just stretch the item out and let the steam hit it. Your steamer will put out enough steam that unless you have a heavy fabric or a really tough wrinkle you won't even have to touch the wand to the fabric.
I'm jealous - can't beat it if you're doing a lot of clothes at once. I worked/managed retail for 15 years and we steamed just about everything before it went out to the selling floor. It's a mindless task, I never minded doing it. I keep an iron and board and a little seamstress' steamer set up in my photo area and turn them on as soon as I go in there to take pictures. A little fussing makes a lot of difference in the presentation. Yes, they get "squished" when packed but there's a big difference between sharp creases from folding the garment and it being wrinkled. Regarding this I'll give another hint: Get a clipboard or cut a piece of heavy cardboard to about that same size. Lay your garment front down and spread out and center the clipboard at the base of the collar. Fold the sleeves in and then the sides of the shirt around it. Fold the tail up and then slide the clipboard out. You can double it up again if you want. It'll look great. If you really want to go all out, lay a piece of tissue paper down before the clipboard.
Just some little things I learned and use now BUT now I'm not standing there in high heels and pantihose doing it. Shorts and barefeet at home rule!
posted on August 9, 2001 10:02:46 AM new
craybaby - thank you so much for the tips! UPS just delivered the steamer, and I am like a child at Christmas - I had it out of the box before UPS was even pulling out of the driveway! I even did a "happy dance" when he rang the doorbell (he says I am his favorite stop on his route). I got a wonderful bargain on this - you might want to check their sight out - www.topinnovations.com. The steamers are almost identical to Jiffy steamers, but much lower in price - less than half - And it comes with an excellent warranty! And the people are very nice to work with!
I appreciate your positive input! Hope you have a wonderful day.....
